Will Liverpool cause a preliminary decision in Lisbon?
Benfica Lisbon vs Liverpool. This is a real perennial favourite in international competitions. The Portuguese have only played Bayern Munich and Manchester United more often in the European Cup. The Reds only get to more matches on the big football stage against Chelsea. Now these two teams face each other again, in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
After all, the Reds are unbeaten in eight Champions League matches against Portuguese clubs. Nevertheless, making it to the semi-finals should be anything but a formality. Especially at the Estadio da Luz, the English should be prepared for tough resistance.
However, the Eagles’ record does not suggest that they should expect a home win. The Portuguese have won only one of their last six home games against English clubs. That was in April 2013, when Newcastle United were guests in the Portuguese capital. Therefore, the prediction for the first leg between Benfica Lisbon and Liverpool should be more towards a win for the visitors.
In general, we expect the Portuguese to be cautious and to look for their chances with needle-stick attacks. The English are more likely to do the playing. Nevertheless, we expect a few goals to be scored and therefore we can imagine betting on more than 2.5 goals in the match between Benfica Lisbon and Liverpool.
Benfica Lisbon – Statistics & current form
The Eagles should enjoy the evening against the Reds, because it might be their last home game in the Champions League for a longer period of time. Next season, the Portuguese will probably only play in the top flight if they manage to triumph in this competition. In the national league, Benfica are clearly behind their rivals Sporting and Porto.
Ordinary form in recent weeks
At the moment, Nelson Verissimo’s team is only third and has a big gap to the competition. So the championship is ticked off. They have been eliminated from the cup and the league cup. It will almost certainly be a season without a title for the Eagles, whose last chance to win a trophy is indeed the top division, even if the prospects in the Champions League are rather limited.
With only one defeat from the last ten games, the record of the last few weeks actually doesn’t sound bad at all. However, there have also been a few draws and Benfica’s defeat came last Friday at Sporting Braga, when they were beaten 3-2. After going 2-0 down, they showed morale and equalised after goals from Darwin Nunez and Joao Mario. Shortly afterwards, however, Braga scored the 3:2 winner.
Coach Nelson Verissimo would certainly have envisaged a different dress rehearsal, but the Eagles can concentrate all the more on Tuesday’s match, and yet we are not looking at the odds for a home win in the Benfica Lisbon vs Liverpool clash. Lucas Verissimo, Adel Taarabt and Rodrigo Pinho will be out injured on Tuesday.
Predicted line-up of Benfica Lisbon:
Vlachodimos – Grimaldo, Vertonghen, Otamendi, Gilberto – Weigl, Meite, Nunez, Rafa Silva – Yaremchuk, Ramos – Coach: Verissimo
Last matches played by Benfica Lisbon:
Liga Portugal
04/01 2022 – Braga 3 – 2 Benfica
03/20 2022 – Benfica 2 – 1 Estoril
Champions League Final
03/15 2022 – Ajax Amsterdam 0 – 1 Benfica
Liga Portugal
03/11 2022 – Benfica 1 – 1 Vizela
03/05 2022 – Portimonense 1 – 2 Benfica
Liverpool – Statistics & current form
When you think about the favourites in the Champions League, Liverpool are probably at the top of that list. It could be an outstanding season for Jürgen Klopp’s team. In the Premier League, they are currently in a neck-and-neck race against Manchester City for the English championship. The Reds are still involved in the FA Cup and have already won the League Cup.
Reds with strong series
So there could be a few trophies heading to the Mersey this season. Overall, the Reds’ form is very optimistic. In the past 20 games, there has only been one defeat. Most recently, there have been four wins for LFC without conceding a goal. It sounds as if it’s not too risky to predict a win for the visitors in the clash between Benfica Lisbon and Liverpool.
Last weekend, however, Jürgen Klopp’s team struggled at home in the Premier League against Watford. Diogo Jota gave his team an early lead, but for a long time the victory was still on the line. It was not until the 89th minute that Fabinho put the lid on this game with a converted penalty for the 2-0 final score.
In terms of personnel, the Reds’ current situation is almost outstanding. Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only player who has to miss Tuesday’s match due to injury. Otherwise, all players are fit for action. In the case of Mo Salah, it remains to be seen how he has now coped with the missed World Cup qualification. The Egyptian was rather inconspicuous against Watford.
Predicted Liverpool line-up:
Alisson – Robertson, van Dijk, Matip, Gomez – Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago – Diogo Jota, Mane, Salah – Coach: Klopp
Last matches played by Liverpool:
Premier League
04/02 2022 – Liverpool FC 2 – 0 Watford
FA Cup
03/20 2022 – Nottingham Forest 0 – 1 Liverpool FC
Premier League
03/16 2022 – Arsenal FC 0 – 2 Liverpool FC
03/12 2022 – Brighton 0 – 2 Liverpool FC
Champions League Final
03/08 2022 – Liverpool FC 0 – 1 Inter Milan
Benfica Lisbon – Liverpool Direct comparison / H2H record
Benfica Lisbon vs Liverpool. This is a classic in international football, which first took place in the 1977/78 season. There are now ten games in total. The direct comparison is in favour of the English with 6:4 victories. There has never been a draw between these two teams. However, Benfica have proved to be a difficult opponent for the Reds, especially in their own stadium.
Benfica have won their last three home games against Liverpool. The last two meetings were in the quarter-finals of the Europa League in the 2009/10 season. The Portuguese side won 2-1 at home, but Liverpool won the second leg 4-1 at Anfield Road to book their place in the semi-finals. Fernando Torres was the match-winner for the Reds at the time with a brace.
Benfica Lisbon – Liverpool Tip
The Champions League is the last chance for Benfica Lisbon to win another title this season. In the quarter-finals against the Reds, however, the Portuguese are the big underdogs. The quotes even indicate that the English are already favoured in the first leg in the Portuguese capital. After all, Liverpool have conceded only one defeat in their last 20 games.
However, Benfica have only lost once in their last ten competitive matches and have shown in their own stadium, as in the round of 16 against Ajax, that they can also cope with stronger teams. In addition, the Eagles have won all of their last three home games against Liverpool. Therefore, you can think about placing a bet on the double chance 1X in the match Benfica Lisbon vs. Liverpool
At least it sounds like the home side can celebrate a goal success. However, we think that the Reds will already score a preliminary decision on Tuesday and get the win at the Estadio da Luz. We have therefore decided to play the betting odds between Benfica Lisbon and Liverpool on an away win and a total of more than 2.5 goals.
